RPI 2025 Off-Season: Help Is On the Way

[rpi82]

To the best of my knowledge, we have 9 returnees (5F, 3D, 1G), 10 players from the portal (6F, 3D, 1G).. My best guess is 7 freshmen (3F, 3D, 1G or 4F, 2D, 1G). We are just about done since I think we are limited to 26 players now. It will be interesting to see who Lang's first recruit for 2026 or later years is.

I don’t think that’s true for us. Schools opting into the new NIL and revenue sharing system system (the big boys with athletic departments “sharing” tens of millions in athletic revenues with athletes, i.e. professional college “students”) are limited to 26 but can give them all scholarships. Undoubtedly most of the revenue sharing will go to FB and BB rosters, but some will end up in hockey. I believe all other schools are under the old rules, which provided for unlimited roster sizes but only 18 scholarships. Yes, this whole thing is a mess…..

 

[fr. joe]

This brave new world (NIL, portals) favors the strong schools. The ice will be slanted.

But another factor to consider... Colleges and universities adjusting to new realities of a smaller pool of high school seniors, a much more challenging economy post-COVID for higher education, and now the impact of fewer to foreign students coming to US colleges

These things will hit ECAC schools harder, imo. What will this mean for RPI when it comes to competing, not just on the ice?

The Albany Times Union had an interesting article (behind a paywall) about Union a few days ago... how their freshman class will be smaller this year... how they had to give more financial aid to attract their class of 2029... and how they're facing the decline in applications from foreign students. And how this affects UC's finances.

Wonder what this means for RPI, competing on and off the ice?

 

[Wicked Slappaahs]

All of what you wrote is true Padre. The issues are even more magnified in the northeast where populations have shrunk, the families that remain are having fewer children and of that pool of kids, many of them want to go to school somewhere other than the northeast. This trend started long before Covid (which of course only accelerated these issues) and is the primary reason why many of the small independent colleges in the region are struggling.

 

[Ralph Baer]

This brave new world (NIL, portals) favors the strong schools. The ice will be slanted.

But another factor to consider... Colleges and universities adjusting to new realities of a smaller pool of high school seniors, a much more challenging economy post-COVID for higher education, and now the impact of fewer to foreign students coming to US colleges

These things will hit ECAC schools harder, imo. What will this mean for RPI when it comes to competing, not just on the ice?

The Albany Times Union had an interesting article (behind a paywall) about Union a few days ago... how their freshman class will be smaller this year... how they had to give more financial aid to attract their class of 2029... and how they're facing the decline in applications from foreign students. And how this affects UC's finances.

Wonder what this means for RPI, competing on and off the ice?

On the other hand, CHL players increase the size of the talent pool.

 

[giwan]

There is another court ruling coming down the barrel. This next one will change NIL and monies drastically where all sports will be in the pot. Majority of funding still football and bball the remaining goes to all others is my understanding ie volleyball, gymnastics etc etc. I believe a new entity will govern this, not ncaa but who knows.
Really the wild west.
I believe the larger unis will essentially be minor pro teams and not care about academics. Essentially there now. For me no longer student-athlete just athlete and will be booed for a fumble. Many already that go to the pros are having to take "pay cuts". Something will give.

 

[Ralph Baer]

Today is 22 May 2025. There are 135 days until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 4 October 2025 for the start of next season.

 

[tony/troy]

There is another court ruling coming down the barrel. This next one will change NIL and monies drastically where all sports will be in the pot. Majority of funding still football and bball the remaining goes to all others is my understanding ie volleyball, gymnastics etc etc. I believe a new entity will govern this, not ncaa but who knows.
Really the wild west.
I believe the larger unis will essentially be minor pro teams and not care about academics. Essentially there now. For me no longer student-athlete just athlete and will be booed for a fumble. Many already that go to the pros are having to take "pay cuts". Something will give.

Do you really think "pay cuts" from college to pro started with NIL.

In a more current day catching up with interview with NFL hall of famer Hugh McElhaney and his wife not all that long before his passing, they freely admitted to the pay cut they took from his senior year at the University of Washington in 1951 to NFL rookie of the year in 1952 with the 49ers. The statute must have ran out!!! So much so that my only memory as a child of McElhaney was as a well past his prime punt and kick off returner for the Giants in the early 60's.

Anyway, his NFL rookie salary was $5,000 with deductions for federal, social security and state taxes. One year earlier, UW boosters "slipped" the young couple around $10.000 with no deductions. They joked that after turning pro, at least one on them had to hold at least a part time regular job (off season for him) in order to maintain the same standard of living they had as college kids.

No, NIL did not start anything. It only accelerated it. Eventually, it may very well destroy the very thing that led to NIL to begin with.

 

[rpi82]

On the other hand, CHL players increase the size of the talent pool.

True, but I'm also wondering how much that really benefits us in the short run. I had hoped we'd see more CHL players in recruiting (to date really 1, Krawchuk, as Ziliotto only went to the OHL from the BCHL after committing and the eligibility rules were changed), but that may have been optimistic. The current crop went into major junior knowing it would prevent them from going to college in the U.S. They either decided the academic route wasn't in their future or they favored USports. As a result the number that would be interested in and could be admitted to a small, private, technical school with challenging academics (elitist comment: compared to the cupcake majors available at many schools Lally is quite daunting, not to mention the extraordinary challenge for those that may want to combine hockey and an engineering or sciences major) may be few. Adding in our lack of on ice success undoubtedly means that coaches Smith and Lang have been engaged in an uphill battle for a relatively small pool. As he turns this program around and the CHL increasingly takes on players with college goals hopefully Coach Lang will change those dynamics.

 

[rpi82]

Do you really think "pay cuts" from college to pro started with NIL.

In a more current day catching up with interview with NFL hall of famer Hugh McElhaney and his wife not all that long before his passing, they freely admitted to the pay cut they took from his senior year at the University of Washington in 1951 to NFL rookie of the year in 1952 with the 49ers. The statute must have ran out!!! So much so that my only memory as a child of McElhaney was as a well past his prime punt and kick off returner for the Giants in the early 60's.

Anyway, his NFL rookie salary was $5,000 with deductions for federal, social security and state taxes. One year earlier, UW boosters "slipped" the young couple around $10.000 with no deductions. They joked that after turning pro, at least one on them had to hold at least a part time regular job (off season for him) in order to maintain the same standard of living they had as college kids.

No, NIL did not start anything. It only accelerated it. Eventually, it may very well destroy the very thing that led to NIL to begin with.

Pro sports pre-free agency were nothing like they are today. The owners controlled everything. One reason that Carl Yastrzemski, a Long Island kid that grew up a Yankee fan, ended up in Boston is that he had the temerity to ask for a $100K signing bonus. They certainly could afford it, but the Yankees weren't going to be bullied into setting that precedent. In those days players had off-season jobs and the Yankees were king of the hill. Curt Flood and Catfish Hunter were still a generation away. Many players signed for bus money to some God forsaken rookie league outpost.

You are certainly right that big time college football and basketball have been effectively professional for a long time. But salaries in the pro leagues rose so high after free agency that the possibility a player could turn down draft status because he'd lose money was effectively nil. Now, we are back to those olden days you mentioned. Only a handful of QBs make it in the NFL each year, and any of those that are drafted after the top couple of rounds are going to be constrained by the rookie salary scale. So, major college QBs with any level of success can often now make more - and it will be guaranteed $ versus a make the team requirement to keep an NFL contract - than if they declared. They can make 7 figures (at ranked schools with > 1 as the first digit) versus about $800K as a late round draft choice.

I wonder who is going to bring that chaos to college hockey. Some think it will be the biggest of the Big 10 boys because they have the most money. But they have so much committed to FB and BB that I think hockey will trail far behind. My guess it will be a lower P4 that decides they don't have the horses even if they throw all of their money at football but could compete for a hockey title by reallocating just a fraction of that money. The two that come to mind are BC and Minnesota (ASU?). Both can't really expect to win their leagues in FB, but could dominate in hockey. It will be interesting to see who is first to break from the pack.

 

[Ralph Baer]

Today is 23 May 2025. There are 134 days until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 4 October 2025 for the start of next season.

 

[Wicked Slappaahs]

True, but I'm also wondering how much that really benefits us in the short run. I had hoped we'd see more CHL players in recruiting (to date really 1, Krawchuk, as Ziliotto only went to the OHL from the BCHL after committing and the eligibility rules were changed), but that may have been optimistic. The current crop went into major junior knowing it would prevent them from going to college in the U.S. They either decided the academic route wasn't in their future or they favored USports. As a result the number that would be interested in and could be admitted to a small, private, technical school with challenging academics (elitist comment: compared to the cupcake majors available at many schools Lally is quite daunting, not to mention the extraordinary challenge for those that may want to combine hockey and an engineering or sciences major) may be few. Adding in our lack of on ice success undoubtedly means that coaches Smith and Lang have been engaged in an uphill battle for a relatively small pool. As he turns this program around and the CHL increasingly takes on players with college goals hopefully Coach Lang will change those dynamics.

As Ralph accurately pointed out, the pool of players is larger now, not smaller. The D1 (and DIII) recruiting of CHL kids is fast and furious with player commitments still landing daily. It's the new normal for NCAA hockey and new opportunities for those players to play in the NCAA. The vast majority of the CHL kids, like ours, will never play high level pro hockey. So if they have solid guidance (family, advisors, etc.) then they are still going to pursue their academics while playing in the CHL, as they will need to have a post-hockey career path. Clearly this is happening, as all of the leagues are recruiting these kids now and getting them admitted.

The Memorial Cup starts tonight and of the teams contending, there are multiple D1 commits ( and likely plenty more to follow) on those rosters including kids headed to:
UML, UVM, Sconny, Maine x2, NMU, Sparty, Q'pac, AA-F, Yale, Prov., UMass, NE,

As others have mentioned, as CHL recruiting ramps up, it may well present opportunities for teams like RPI to grab kids from the USHL and BCHL that are getting bumped for CHL kids. Time will tell. We know Lang has his recruiter on staff and together with Karlis and Joel they will beat the bushes for skaters !

​

 

[bgtrpi]

This brave new world (NIL, portals) favors the strong schools. The ice will be slanted.

But another factor to consider... Colleges and universities adjusting to new realities of a smaller pool of high school seniors, a much more challenging economy post-COVID for higher education, and now the impact of fewer to foreign students coming to US colleges

These things will hit ECAC schools harder, imo. What will this mean for RPI when it comes to competing, not just on the ice?

The Albany Times Union had an interesting article (behind a paywall) about Union a few days ago... how their freshman class will be smaller this year... how they had to give more financial aid to attract their class of 2029... and how they're facing the decline in applications from foreign students. And how this affects UC's finances.

Wonder what this means for RPI, competing on and off the ice?

Yesterday, the administration in Washington, DC revoked the ability of Harvard to accept foreign students and keep those already enrolled. If the courts allow that to stay in place or the administration continues to defy the courts, Harvard, and other universities in the crosshairs, may lose some players and recruits to other schools and foreign student-athletes may decide it’s not worth the risk to come to the US.

 

[DrDemento]

Yesterday, the administration in Washington, DC revoked the ability of Harvard to accept foreign students and keep those already enrolled. If the courts allow that to stay in place or the administration continues to defy the courts, Harvard, and other universities in the crosshairs, may lose some players and recruits to other schools and foreign student-athletes may decide it’s not worth the risk to come to the US.

i am sure some Federal Judge in some local jurisdiction will have something to say about this. This will not be allowed to be settled so quickly or easily.

 

[jericho]

As Ralph accurately pointed out, the pool of players is larger now, not smaller. The D1 (and DIII) recruiting of CHL kids is fast and furious with player commitments still landing daily. It's the new normal for NCAA hockey and new opportunities for those players to play in the NCAA. The vast majority of the CHL kids, like ours, will never play high level pro hockey. So if they have solid guidance (family, advisors, etc.) then they are still going to pursue their academics while playing in the CHL, as they will need to have a post-hockey career path. Clearly this is happening, as all of the leagues are recruiting these kids now and getting them admitted.

The Memorial Cup starts tonight and of the teams contending, there are multiple D1 commits ( and likely plenty more to follow) on those rosters including kids headed to:
UML, UVM, Sconny, Maine x2, NMU, Sparty, Q'pac, AA-F, Yale, Prov., UMass, NE,

As others have mentioned, as CHL recruiting ramps up, it may well present opportunities for teams like RPI to grab kids from the USHL and BCHL that are getting bumped for CHL kids. Time will tell. We know Lang has his recruiter on staff and together with Karlis and Joel they will beat the bushes for skaters !

​

Wrong Laing. You want Mathias.